Mountain Goat

Mountain Goat

scientific name

Oreamnos americanus

size/weight/height

Mountain goats weigh from 100 to 300 pounds, with the males typically 25 percent larger than the females. They measure 4 to 5 feet across, and have tails 4 to 8 inches long.

adaptations/coloration

Mountain goat fur is white helping the animals blend in with their snowy environment. They have thick wooly undercoats and beards. Both males and females have horns. Their hooves have a hard, sharp rim enclosing a soft inner pad, well suited for climbing on rocks. Mountain goats are not true goats, and are actually more closely related to antelopes

behavior

Mountain goats may form large groups in the winter in protected areas; in the summer, they disperse into small bands and congregate at salt licks. They may cover 100 meters daily while grazing and browsing, able to climb and jump easily in rugged terrain, but in the autumn, they move down-slope. They may excavate shallow depressions for bedding. These animals sometimes fight over food, but they don’t butt heads.

reproduction/life span

Mountain goats mate from November to early January. They have a gestation period of 147 to 178 days and give birth in late May and early June. Usually, one baby mountain goat (called a kid) is born, but twins are not uncommon. The young are able to follow their mother in a week, and they mature at 30 months. Males live an average of 14 years and females live an average of 18.

diet

Mountain goats are herbivores, eating wild grass, herbs, lichen, moss and woody plants. In the zoo, they eat alfalfa, grass, hay, pelleted feed and cuttings of browse plants provided by gardening staff.

habitat/range

Mountain goats live on steep slopes and cliffs in alpine and sub alpine areas. They live in mountainous regions from southeast Alaska to the southwestern part of the Northwest Territories.

other

Mountain goats have been introduced to Colorado, central Montana, the Black Hills of South Dakota, Hells Canyon National Scenic Area in Oregon, Olympic National Park in Washington, Kodiak, Baranof and the Chicago Islands of Alaska..